Editing Temple menorah (section)

===Tabernacle===
The original menorah was made for the [[tabernacle]], and the Bible records it as being present until the [[Israelites]] crossed the [[Jordan River]]. When the tabernacle tent was pitched in [[Shiloh (biblical city)|Shiloh]],<ref>{{bibleverse||Joshua|18:1|HE}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse||1 Samuel|3:3|HE}}</ref> it is assumed that the menorah was also present. However, no mention is made of it during the years that the [[Ark of the Covenant]] was moved in the times of [[Samuel]] and [[Saul]].<ref>{{bibleverse||1 Samuel|5:1|HE}}</ref>

[[Benjamin Sommer|Benjamin D. Sommer]] suggests that while the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle was reserved for God’s presence, the main room featured a metal menorah with six branches on each side, potentially echoing the [[asherah pole|asherah]], a [[sacred tree]] or [[branch|pole]].<ref>Sommer, Benjamin D. ''The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel''. Cambridge University Press, 2009, p. 75.</ref> However, Rachel Hachili argues that theories positing that the menorah had its roots in some kind of sacred tree or plant have several problems.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hachili |first=Rachel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TOI9oLkEHdoC&pg=PA38 |title=The Menorah, the Ancient Seven-armed Candelabrum: Origin, Form, and Significance |date=2001 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-12017-4 |pages=38—39}}</ref>